Hearing devices must establish contact with an external unit for different applications. By way of example, hearing devices require an energy source for powering the electrical components during their operation. Hearing devices are thus generally provided with batteries. To avoid a time-consuming and costly replacement of the batteries, rechargeable batteries are often used. For charging purposes, these are either removed from the hearing device and connected to a battery charging station or the batteries remain in the hearing device and are linked to a battery charging station by way of charging contacts integrated in the housing.
Particularly with an in-the-ear hearing device, the housing of which is individually molded according to the shape of the auditory canal of the hearing device wearer, a positioning of charging contacts for secure connection to a standardized battery charging station may be difficult.
A known solution thus consists in using an inductive battery charging method, with which a coil arranged in the hearing device takes up the electrical energy emitted by a coil of the charging device in a contact-free fashion and forwards it to the battery. One example of an inductive charging system for hearing aids is specified in the patent application DE 41 04 359 C2.
The inductive charging apparatus is disadvantageous in respect of the low degree of efficiency and the large space-wasting charging coil inside the hearing device.